Don’t Take the High Octane Road: 7 Ways to Embarrass Yourself When Leaving
#1: When faced with a difficult, potentially controversial decision, avoid bold statements.
“I’ve bought in and sold out to Tulsa. My wife told me if I leave Tulsa it will be alone.”
—Todd Graham prior to leaving Tulsa to be the University of Pittsburgh’s head football coach.
Making career decisions isn’t easy. You have to weigh personal and professional issues and make a choice. If you are considering a move, why make an emphatic statement about staying where you are? It’s unwise at best, duplicitous at worst.
#2: Minimize hackneyed clichés and press conference lingo.
“I’m a family guy. This is the first job I’ve ever taken that has benefitted my wife.”
—Todd Graham after leaving Pitt to become the head football coach at Arizona State University.
When people leave one position for another, they often cite “family reasons.” We’re trained to be skeptical and wonder what the real story is. If it truly is to make your spouse happy, refer to #1.
# 3: Stay away from inflammatory public criticism of others, especially if you have a history of doing the same thing.
“They’re nothing but mercenaries.”
—Todd Graham commenting on three coaches who left Pitt to join Coach Rich Rodriquez’ staff at the University of Arizona.
Dramatic statements criticizing others don’t do much good, particularly if you end up guilty of what you criticized them for.
#4: Temper the hype. Focus on goals and targets instead.
“We’re a no-huddle football team. Fast tempo, high octane. We’ll be the most explosive team in the country.”
—Todd Graham at a press conference upon becoming Pitt head football coach.
“What’s our offense going to look like? Well, obviously our offense is going to be high octane, it’s going to be quick striking, explosive. Our whole deal is about explosive plays.” —Todd Graham at a press conference upon becoming Arizona State head football coach.
#5: Deliver difficult news in person and treat people with respect.
Pitt’s players learned their coach was leaving via text that Graham asked his director of football operations to forward to them. I don’t care how old you are or how much you like texting. You do not deliver serious, personal news via text.
He emailed his resignation to Athletic Director Steve Peterson. If you are leaving an organization, do so with dignity. Respect your superiors whether you like them or not. Don’t resign via email.
#6: If you preach something, at least try to live up to your words.
“The number one goal of our program is to produce men of character and of integrity. Men that have giving hearts.”
—Todd Graham at a press conference upon becoming Pitt head football coach.
#7: Passion is good. Using the same script time and again, not so much.
“It’s an honor for me to be at Pitt. Tony Dorsett, Dan Marino, Mike Ditka, Mark May. All the great players and the great tradition of Pitt football. I want to give all the respect to Coach Wannstedt, Coach Bennett and the class of 2010.”
“It’s such an honor for me to be taking over the program that the legend Frank Kush built…it also would be remiss for me not to talk about Coach Erickson and the 2011 Sun Devils. He’s going to be a Hall of Fame coach…How about let’s play it like Pat Tillman and Terrell Suggs…like Jake Plummer and Danny White…”
—Todd Graham at his first press conferences at Pitt and Arizona State.
When you make the difficult decision to move on, avoid these pitfalls and take the high road instead.
Take a trip down memory lane with Todd Graham via the links below:
